D.C. Courts and Government

January 02, 2014

The Smithsonian Institution has an insect problem. Not the kind that requires an exterminator, though—this one involves lawyers.

The Smithsonian wants a federal judge to alter the terms of an endowment left by Carl Drake, a professor of entomology and zoology who became a researcher at the Smithsonian in the late 1950s. The institution filed a
petition in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on Dec. 30.

When Drake died in 1965, he left a collection of an order of insects known as hemiptera-heteroptera to the Smithsonian, as well as an endowment designated primarily for buying more bugs.

Stillwell faced a series of disciplinary actions from high courts in Maryland and the District beginning in 2009. The D.C. Court of Appeals initially suspended Stillwell for 60 days in 2009 for misrepresenting his employment status at Pillsbury. Stillwell told clients he was senior counsel at the firm, as opposed to an associate.

Hundreds of potential claimants in the high-profile black farmers discrimination case are challenging the denial of their claims for a share of a $1.25 billion settlement fund.

The federal government agreed to settle claims of loan discrimination by the U.S. Department of Agriculture not covered by a previous settlement in 1999. U.S. District Senior Judge Paul Friedman approved the new settlement in 2011.

Since then, Friedman wrote in a recent court filing, he has received a flood of challenges from claimants who sought compensation in the latest deal. In his Dec. 31
opinion, Friedman told lawyers for the class and the U.S. Department of Justice to respond to issues raised by the challengers by Jan. 30.

Last year brought heightened contentiousness to the circuit confirmation process—particularly involving Obama's three nominees to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. That fight led Democrats to change Senate rules and prevent the minority the right to block judicial nominations (except for the U.S. Supreme Court).

In the shadow of that political battle, however, the federal courts still have more judicial vacancies now than at the beginning of the Obama administration, according to a year-end roundup by Russell Wheeler, a Brookings fellow who studies the nominations process.

December 27, 2013

A former lobbyist caught up in Jack Abramoff scandal has asked a federal judge to unseal government records to shed light on the "trial penalty"—the premium the government seeks to extract from defendants who exercise their right to trial instead of taking a plea offer.

Kevin Ring, sentenced earlier to 20 months in prison, has asked the federal district court in Washington to release portions of a government PowerPoint presentation given to him as part of pre-indictment dealings in 2008.

Back then, the government required the document to be kept secret, presumably to protect the secrecy of the government's then-continuing investigation into the Abramoff matter, according to Ring's attorneys, Andrew Wise and Timothy O'Toole of Miller & Chevalier in Washington.

December 24, 2013

Café Milano, an Italian restaurant in Georgetown, is
suing its former manager for allegedly breaching his contract by secretly agreeing to work for a soon-to-open competitor months before announcing his resignation.

The restaurant, represented by ShawnCoulson in Washington, claimed Antonio Ferraro ran afoul of the non-compete clause in his contract by accepting an offer to work at Fiola Mare, a new restaurant set to open soon in Georgetown.

Contract information was unavailable for Ferraro. A lawyer for Fiola Mare, Mark Sandground of Kalbian Hagerty, declined to comment, as did Café Milano's lead attorney William Shawn.

The Office of Bar Counsel is on track to receive more attorney ethics complaints in 2013 than it did in 2012, especially related to criminal cases.

According to the latest bar counsel statistics, the office received 1,090 complaints as of Nov. 13, up from 1,021 complaints received by the same time in 2012. There were a total of 1,081 complaints received by bar counsel in 2012.

Bar counsel officials said they weren't sure what accounted for the increase in complaints this year. "There's nothing in particular that we know of at this point," said Deputy Bar Counsel Elizabeth Herman.

December 23, 2013

A public defender and children's law attorney were recently appointed as magistrate judges in the District of Columbia Superior Court.

The court today announced the appointments of Renee Raymond and Sean Staples. They'll begin serving in January after finishing training.

Raymond joined the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia more than 20 years ago. She's currently a supervising attorney, and served as the organization's training director from 2006 to 2010. Raymond is also an adjunct professor at American University Washington College of Law.

Wiley Rein is defending its request for $2 million in legal fees from the federal government after winning a constitutional challenge to the federal Voting Rights Act.

The U.S. Department of Justice has opposed the fee request, arguing Wiley Rein's client, Shelby County, Ala., didn't bring the type of claims covered under the voting rights law's fee-shifting provision. On Dec. 20, Wiley Rein filed
court papers that accused the government of trying to relitigate issues the U.S. Supreme Court decided.

"[N]either their antipathy toward the rights Shelby County restored to the citizens of formerly covered jurisdictions nor the slew of other objections they raise can defeat Shelby County’s proper claim for attorney’s fees," firm founding partner Bert Rein wrote.